The Consortium

The Consortium of Violinmakers “Antonio Stradivari” Cremona was founded in 1996 for the purpose of promoting and making known contemporary Cremonese violinmaking, which upholds an ancient artisan tradition. 
 The Consortium of Violinmakers has its seat in Cremona, the city of Stradivari, Amati and Guarneri, the great masters of the past. Their art, known and admired throughout the world, is a source of inexhaustible inspiration for modern instrument makers. 
Around fifty master stringed instrument makers from Cremona and its Province belong to the Consortium. 
In order to safeguard the instrument makers’ work, the Consortium of Violinmakers has created, in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and the Craft Associations, the “Cremona Liuteria” trademark. 
The “Cremona Liuteria” trademark guarantees that the certified instrument is handmade by a Cremonese professional master instrument maker. The Consortium of Violinmakers maintains a database of the instruments sold with the “Cremona Liuteria” trademark; this permits a constant check on the authenticity of the instruments. 
The trademark is a fundamental step for the safeguarding of Cremonese instruments from the danger of forgery; it brings transparency to the market and security for purchasers. 
A few steps from the Cathedral, in the very central Piazza Stradivari, is to be found the seat of the Consortium of Violinmakers, where Cremonese instruments with the “Cremona Liuteria” trademark may be admired and played. The showroom, open throughout the year, presents a wide range of bowed instruments, accessories and specialized publications. 

The luthiers

Today, the Consortium of Violinmakers “Antonio Stradivari” is made of more than forty Master violinmakers from Cremona:
– AN AYOUNG
– ARDOLI MASSIMO
– ASINARI SANDRO
– BARATTO LUCA
– BASTIANI LUCA
– CARLSON BRUCE
– CIVA MANUELE
– COMMENDULLI ALESSANDRO
– CONIA STEFANO
– CONIA “IL GIOVANE” STEFANO
– CUBANZI VLADIMIR
. DOTTI MARCO
– FARIAS PABLO
– FERRARI MICHELE
– FRIEDMANN BÉNÉDICTE
– GABBANI MARTIN
– GASSER ROBERT
– GASTALDI MARCO MARIA
– GRISALES JORGE HUMBERTO
– JOST MARIANNE
– MARCHI LORENZO
– MAZZOLARI MINA
– NEGRONI DAVIDE
– NOLLI MARCO
– ORIPPI PATRIK
– RIBES SEBASTIAN
– ROBERTS CARLOS
– RUSS EDGAR
– SARDONE PASQUALE
– SCOLARI DANIELE
– SCOLARI GIORGIO
– SPERZAGA ANGELO
– NEUMANN BERNARD
– SCHUDTZ ANDREI
– SHUICHI TAKAHASHI
– SPADONI ADRIANO
– TAJÈ DIEGO JURI
– TONARELLI DANIELE
– TRABUCCHI STEFANO
– VARAZZANI ANDREA
– VILLA MARCELLO

The trademark

A trademark identifying the Cremonese instruments was strongly desired by the Cremona Chamber of Commerce together with the Consortium of Violinmakers “Antonio Stradivari” Cremona, as well as by the various craftsmen associations supported by the Regional Chamber of Commerce and Regione Lombardia as an attempt to put a seal of quality on modern stringed instruments made in Cremona that could be recognised throughout the world.
It is an important attempt to give a qualitative edge to a traditional craft that works at the pace of the past using antique techniques, penalised by modern economic constraints that lead to standardised products and marketing.
The Cremona Liuteria trademark answers the request imposed by the professional development of the field, and is a fundamental first step towards protecting and safeguarding the instruments made in Cremona.
This operation is an advantage: 

• more transparency for the market,
• safety for customers, who can be sure of buying guaranteed instruments,
• access to a databank allowing a permanent verification of the authenticity of the maker and the instrument. 

Years of training, particular skills, special sensitivity and practical experience are required to become a stringed instrument maker; in order to make instruments that are excellent both in terms of sound and appearance high quality materials are required and great care must be taken over the process; therefore, the Cremona Liuteria trademark aims to:

• guarantee the handicraft characteristics and the origin of the instruments.
• supervise the instrument making activity.
• promote the violin making culture in the world and especially the contemporary violin making, developing activities aimed at raising the awareness of musicians. 

The collaboration with SIAE makes effective the protection on the market of the quality and origin of the instruments, through the use of special anti-counterfeiting stamps to be affixed to the certificates of the instruments and the registration of the individual certified instruments in a database, operating precisely in Cremona.